Peter Pettigrew wondered how exactly he landed himself in the current situation.
One moment he was spying on Severus Snape for his own benefit, seeing that the rather imposing young man had become a rising figurehead in the wizarding community. People had praised Snape over the new dragon pox cure, of his modified potions recipes that made their way into the syllabus and if he was not annoyed, Snape was generally an easy-going person.
Of course, the deal he made with Snape in their seventh year never really being called off by either party, so Peter had sought Snape everywhere in hopes that the young man would find a way to protect him because Severus Snape was brilliant; surely he could be a better man doing the job than Albus Dumbledore, right?
And thus, when the other person with Snape (he wondered if the Order of the Phoenix really was the beacon of hope as he foolishly believed, seeing that Snape had basically deceived them right in front of their eyes) had caught and put him in a Body-Bind Jinx, Peter simply submitted himself to whatever Snape had in mind for him. He knew that he was not to tell anyone what he saw just then; of Snape cowering in utter fright and his strange orange eyes, and the owl that was not really an owl.
After a long time of Snape perusing his mind through Legilimency, Peter could heave out a relieved sigh upon seeing the dour young man showed his mysterious yet curious persona, orange eyes were glinting in satisfaction.
"What really brings you here, Pettigrew," Snape said, thin fingers curled purposely around his wand.
Peter gulped, mildly impressed when he cleared his throat and spoke; apparently Snape had removed some of the Body-Bind Jinx's effects on him. "J- Just like the old times," he stammered, begging with his mind that Snape wouldn't toy with him.
Snape blinked, brows were furrowed for a brief moment before clarification entered his eyes. "Old times…?" he queried after minutely making eye contact with the man who disguised as an owl – Mortimer, if Peter remembered well from James and Lily's marriage fiasco, "Of what kind?"
"I- Information," Peter went on, "…Dumbledore, he… he really wanted you to join him."
Snape snorted, "Oh, really. Then why didn't he try to ask me himself?"
"Well he tried; still is, but never found you just yet. I- Even I had waited here for so long, simply hoping you would pass by someday," Peter grinned nervously.
Snape raised his eyebrows, "Even if it takes years?"
Peter could only nod.
"And how're your dear friends, Pettigrew?" Snape asked and Peter shirked slightly as the young man slowly circled around him like a predator stalking on its prey (in a way, it really was just that).
"J- James was really mad at you. S- Said that you will regret it if you cross paths with him."
At that, Snape chuckled. "Ah, I suppose I need to thank you for delighting me with such news," he uttered and though he initially flinched in fright when Snape put his other hand in his cloak, Peter frowned upon seeing the young man took out a small pouch.
"You have been living well under Potter's roof, hmm?" Snape questioned after stowing his wand away and Mortimer lowered his in turn.
Peter tried his best to shrug whilst lying on the cold snowy ground, "Not bad, but not great either. Kept rambling on how it could be better if… if Sirius and Remus were still around with us." His ears caught the sound of something clinking against each other and wondered what it could be.
Snape's lips curled into a weak smile. "How'd you like to be a spy? You will be rewarded handsomely, of course."
On New Year's Eve, Peter listened carefully as Albus Dumbledore talked about the worrying state of the Order with the remaining members alongside James and Lily Potter, seeing that their numbers were slowly dwindling due to the numerous skirmishes with the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters.
As it was, Severus Snape always had the best response when persuading someone to do him a favor.
"Fear is a strong motivation."
On 4th January 1980, Lord Voldemort went to the Lestranges' mansion with a cold smile.
The full moon had passed, and he couldn't wait to see what Bellatrix, her husband and her brother in-law had done to their hostage. She was an exceptional fighter and with her sadistic tendencies, no doubt that the man in the dungeons was in utmost despair the night of his terror came to life.
The house-elves bowed down to him in fright and the Dark Lord found himself to be rather repulsed with said behavior. He used to revel in people's fright for his name and presence, yet he felt more humane ever since he reabsorbed the part of his soul that he put in his family ring.
Severus Prince's kind treatment onto his own house-elves too had made him thinking that winning people's trust with fear would only cause rebellions to happen, as seen with the meddlesome Ministry of Magic and Albus Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix.
As Lord Voldemort walked down the stairs heading to the dungeons though, his smile grew wider. Thanks to Severus attending James and Lily Potter's wedding, he had reviewed the memory many times over to eliminate any possible threats to him and his Death Eaters. Of course he had done them in secrecy with most victims either being fed to the wolves or tortured by the Cruciatus Curse for information.
Upon entering the cold room, the Dark Lord approached the other man and took note to reward the Lestranges in the next meeting. "Poor little wolf," he said mockingly as he ran his fingers onto the man's cheek. "I'm sorry, I only did what was asked for and you surely knew of following orders, yes?"
Remus Lupin was basically deformed into mimicking his werewolf self. His hands and feet were permanently bent akin to a mutt's and strapped onto the cold stone floor, his tongue was cut away and on his back were several sandbags placed on top of one another. The blindfold was tied firmly around his head and eyes, and as the young man rasped and whined for breath, Lord Voldemort grinned sadistically.
It was useless for Lupin to call for help, all thanks to Severus Prince's spell to make any parts of the body to disappear as if it hadn't been there in the first place. And with the cruel punishment his heir had set up onto the wolf, recreating all his silent deeds in his school years poetically, the Dark Lord could only wonder what else did Severus had in store for his unfortunate foes.
It was almost three weeks since his father threatened him with a gun and the thought of being killed by his own parent never left Severus Prince's mind, plaguing his dreams alongside his other nightmares. After three days since Christmas, he had stopped taking Dreamless Sleep potions, fearing that he would get addicted by them. And it was not like he was not used to waking up in the middle of the night, especially on his birthday.
Seeing himself in the mirror, Severus took note of his Animagus form in great detail. He had initially did the intricate training as another arsenal under his sleeve during the year where he basically holed himself up in Prince Manor, but the longer he practiced moving around in his animal form and did some attacks based what he learnt that most animals he took form had done, the more he began to like and be in peace with himself.
When he first saw his Animagus form, he was enraged since all it did was showcasing his further fears. If there was anything Severus Prince hated the most, it was losing the controls in his life. He detested how his own body had become unpredictable due to the lingering effects of Fiendfyre and though he no longer used his wheelchair as often, he still carried it around in its shrunken form.
Though, as he tried to move in his animal form, he found himself glad for it. It was a long way indeed and his movements were still rather jaunty at times, but at least it was the form where he could get some semblance of control in himself again. The weapon he now sported was nice to have too.
After making a few fast lunges toward some stuffed targets, Severus went back to his bed and transformed into his human form again before with a sigh, continuing his research on making a better Shield Charm, one that could also protect wizards against stray knives and bullets.
Or perhaps, a bracelet imbued with such spell would be better? It would make a suitable gift too.
Francesca Zabini waited patiently for her boyfriend to come over in Diagon Alley.
It was not exactly the place she had in mind to spend St. Valentine's Day, but Severus was not familiar with other places so she had indulged into his whims. Sipping her cup of hot chocolate whilst in a tea shop, she glanced at the door whenever the bell rang across the small place.
Upon hearing another ring, Francesca's dark eyes lightened up as Severus walked toward her with a slight limp, his wooden cane hitting the floor with a dull thud in every other step. Perched on his left shoulder was a brown owl, and following him from behind were his friends.
"Um…" Severus started with a nervous grin after taking his seat. "Sorry, but I do feel a bit better with them around."
"No, it's alright," she smiled brightly, especially when she saw Severus was wearing the black scarf she knitted over two years ago. From the corner of her eyes, she noted his friends were sitting at the far end of the shop, snickering as they made eye contact. "The more the merrier, as they say," she went on as she passed an empty cup and the teapot to him.
They silently exchanged gifts and Francesca felt her heart swell as she looked at the silver bracelet within the small bundle of cloth.
"Just a safety measure in these trying times," Severus said before gulping down his drink and she almost chortled upon seeing his attempt to hide his blush and put the item around her wrist. It hummed with a rather significant amount of protection spells and her smile grew fonder at the metallic spider adorning the bracelet.
"Actually, I thought of you whenever I summoned my Patronus," she started, gauging her boyfriend's reaction closely.
He simply blinked and placed his cup on the table.
"It's um… well, the reason I put those spider motifs was, uh…" Francesca found herself at a loss for words. "I- I wanted you to know how despite the hardships you went through, you still held on and keep trying, like they did. A- And I… I really admire that… the determination in them and you."
As if sensing what she meant, Severus shifted his left leg with a weak smile. His brown owl cooed softly. "Thanks," was all he said and she went silent, knowing better than to push her luck.
"When are you done with your apprenticeship?" he asked after a while.
She shrugged, "Around end of May or early June, I'd say."
"I- I hope you don't mind, but Slughorn's looking for a replacement and I know no one's really venturing in Potions Mastery apart from you, so…" Severus glanced at his owl briefly before clasping his hands, "I had suggested your name but if you're not up to it, then tell him so."
Francesca hummed in slight interest. The war was still going on but it mostly had been to the hushed side for a while, as if the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters were focusing on something else at the moment. Hogwarts really was the safest place one could think of with its ancient magic and she too wanted to get a respectable job.
"I will think of it," she said and Severus smiled.
As their hour almost went up, Francesca joined Severus and his friends to walk out of the tea shop when the door opened with a ring, and James Potter alongside his pregnant wife and Peter Pettigrew entered the place. If she was correct, Lily Potter looked as if she was about four to five months along. Why Potter brought his vulnerable wife to this place when an attack could occur at any time was beyond her guess.
"Snivvy!" the bespectacled man shouted almost immediately and Francesca curled her lips after the redheaded woman slapped him on the forearm. "S- Snape," he reiterated reluctantly.
"Potter," Severus muttered, his black eyes were narrowed. The owl on his shoulder clicked its beak in distaste. "Can you move along, please? I can't stand still for a long time."
"Well that depends," Potter folded his arms, "You have humiliated me and my wife on our wedding but I'm willing to let it pass if you answer this: Do you still have my Cloak?"
Being the bystanders, Francesca and Severus' friends could only glance at each other in puzzlement whilst Severus asked calmly, "Your Cloak?"
"Yes," Potter gritted his teeth in attempt to stay calm. "If you have it, give it back. It's been ages since we graduated and for the record, it was my family's heirloom first."
Locking her eyes with Regulus Black, Francesca then slowly drew her ebony wand out.
"I'm sorry, but it's gone," Severus said apologetically with a grimace and that was all it took for James Potter to fly into a fit of rage.
"That Cloak belongs to the Potters for generations and you… you-!" James shouted, trying his hardest to escape Pettigrew's restraint on him. "MY DAD SAID IT WAS ONE OF A KIND, AND YOU LOST IT?!"
"What do you expect, Potter?" Severus hissed, gripping his cane tightly, "You've seen what kind of place I lived in, doesn't it ever cross your mind that some people were, and could be desperate enough to do whatever it takes to live? Including robbing other people? But of course, our princely Potter is so wonderful in everyone's eyes; when all he did was to jeer on the poor who he thought was scum and pathetic! ESPECIALLY OF SLYTHERINS!"
The entire tea shop, though not having many customers on the day went quiet.
"Indeed it was a shame for me to lose it, but at least you too won't be up to no good anymore," Severus went on, huffing with deep breaths and giving her an apologetic look, he and his owl then left the place with a crack.
Though she was curious about the feud between him and James Potter, Francesca shook her head and turned to her boyfriend's companions before leaving the shop as well. It was not her right to be suspicious of Severus Snape, not when he had done his best to imbue such strong spells onto her new bracelet.
From the shadows, Death laughed at how Severus Prince tricked them all whilst playing with other people's gullible emotions and thoughts.
He truly was its exceptional Master.